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E-Commerce Times: "Zuckerberg Talks His Way Into Chinese Hearts and Minds"

10/27/2014

E-Commerce Times: "Zuckerberg Talks His Way Into Chinese Hearts and Minds"

. . . "Mark Zuckerberg's meeting with students and faculty at Tsinghua University is quite impressive and notable -- not only because it demonstrated his proficiency in Mandarin, but because he was doing so as an American CEO of a major global corporation," noted Joseph Pastore Jr., professor emeritus at Pace University's Lubin School of Business.

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Pace University and Media Storm Announce First Ever Agency-Branded Degree

10/22/2014

Pace University and Media Storm Announce First Ever Agency-Branded Degree

Pace’s unique MS in Social Media and Mobile Marketing

teams up with industry leader Media Storm starting January 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2014

NEW YORK – Pace University’s Lubin School of Business today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration, co-branding its new Masters Degree in Social Media and Mobile Marketing with Media Storm, the second largest independent media planning and buying agency in the U.S. working with such clients as MTV, FOX, CMT, Starz, Sundance Channel and Food Network. The co-branded MS degree program (#PaceMediaStormMS) begins in January 2015 and is designed for marketing managers, advertising executives, and aspiring communications professionals who want to develop their skills in digital marketing and gain exposure to the latest techniques in the industry.

“Pace University has long been a leader in experiential learning, and we are thrilled to take a step further with this unique collaboration with a leading industry practitioner,” said Neil Braun, Dean of the Lubin School of Business and former president of the NBC Network and CEO of Viacom Entertainment. “Higher education is at a time of transition -- there is much discussion about the gap between what colleges are delivering and what employers need. Media Storm will deliver great opportunities for our students, enhancing the academic program with real-world experiences.”

As the only co-branded Masters Degree in Social Media and Mobile Marketing currently offered by an Accredited Business School, the new program responds to industry concerns about the growing gap between academia and employer needs. Through this new, unique collaboration, executives from Media Storm – as well as the agency’s clients – will be guest lecturers for the classes, provide internships and work closely with faculty members on student projects.

“Social media and mobile technology have fundamentally transformed our culture,” said Jon Cropper, architect of the collaboration, and Resident Futurist at Media Storm. “The pedagogy of classical business education that governs the culture of most graduate schools today was designed when artificial intelligence algorithms, connected devices, smart phones, and mobile/social networks didn't exist. As a result, we are consistently surprised by the lack of readiness from recent graduates, especially in constantly evolving, high velocity disciplines like social and mobile media."

The 18-month program is anchored in an intense focus on building a true understanding of the core fundamentals of effective digital / social / mobile marketing.

Unique features of the program include:

- Significant and ongoing commitment to provide each student with access to leading industry practitioners and guest speakers

- Coursework integrated with real world/real time projects

- Internships from Media Storm and clients

- Custom content and weekly industry insider social media briefings

- Access to Pace's Job Center and Media Storm Human Resources for career advice and counsel

- The world's first "Apple Watch Research Course," where students learn how to build an iOS app and explore how wearable technology will transform social/mobile marketing

Craig Woerz, co-founder and Managing Partner of Media Storm said, "With this highly unique ‘learn-while-doing’ degree program and collaboration with Pace, we’ve taken it into our own hands to address the problem of the skills gap between college and the modern digital workplace. Our program accelerates our innovation pipeline while giving students a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace."

Dates for enrollment in the program begin in January and September 2015. For more information about the masters program or to apply, please visit www.mediastorm.pace.edu

Pace and Media Storm launched their collaboration at Pace’s Schimmel Auditorium (home of the famed Actors Studio Program) and previewed the program with an event featuring Internet star Daria Musk. Ms. Musk is a Media Storm consultant, who is the embodiment of social media marketing success, having used social strategies to launch her career and catapult her to success. Using Google+’s video chat feature “Hangouts” to perform live concerts online, Musk’s music went viral. Now, with more than 3.5 million fans on Google+ and more than 44 million views, Daria is a prime case study of how innovative use of social media can create a successful global brand with very modest resources.

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Visit www.pace.edu

About the Lubin School of Business at Pace University

Globally recognized and prestigiously accredited, the Lubin School of Business integrates New York City’s business world into the experienced-based education of its students at Pace’s suburban and downtown campuses, implemented by the region’s largest co-op program, team-based learning, and customized career guidance. Its programs are designed to launch success-oriented graduates toward upwardly mobile careers. www.pace.edu/lubin

About Media Storm

Media Storm, a division of Water Cooler Group LLC, is the second largest independent media planning and buying shop in the U.S. It works with some of the most well known digital, entertainment and retail brands. Media Storm brings a unique media model that places unpaid media at the forefront. Founded in 2001, it has offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.mediastorm.biz.

NEW YORK, NY – Corporate and foundation leaders joined representatives from federal, state and local governments for the second “Summit on Resilience: The Next Storm.” The conference was held at and sponsored by Pace University.

The event provided a forum for discussion on lessons from Superstorm Sandy and strengthening urban resilience through public-private partnerships at every scale – from local power grids to a global network of forward-looking cities. There were about 120 attendees.

Introductory remarks were given by Stéphane Hallegatte, senior economist in the Climate Change Group at the World Bank, followed by Pace President Stephen J. Friedman interviewing Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Hallegatte spoke of ways to cut losses after a disaster by investing in resilient systems before calamity strikes, but also noted the hurdles to making this happen given the human bias against near-term costs and tendency to discount long-term risks.

A panel discussion followed on physical restoration, general insurance claims for loss of records, interruption of business and what worked well during Superstorm Sandy. The panel was moderated by Pace alumna Rose Littlejohn, managing director of Business Services and LETS at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Panelists included Jerome Hatfield, regional administration of Region II of FEMA; Vincent Barrella, mayor of Point Pleasant, New Jersey; Jill Dalton, managing director of Global Risk Consulting and Property Claims Preparation, Advocacy and Valuation at AON Risk Solutions; and Gary Lawrence, vice president of the Chief Sustainability Office at AECOM.

The final panel was on ways to advance policies that can distribute power generation around a grid, limiting the threat of abrupt blackouts like the one that struck lower Manhattan as Sandy’s surge came ashore. That discussion was moderated by Andrew Revkin, senior fellow for Environmental Understanding at the Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies.

During Revkin’s panel, Chris Levendos, vice president of National Operations for Verizon, spoke of the multiple benefits that come with investment in more durable infrastructure. “More modern equipment is more efficient to use. The cost-benefit is positive from my point of view,” said Levendos.

Ozgem Ornektekin, deputy commissioner for Energy Management in the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, described how the city was using a blend of new combined heat and power facilities, solar panel installations and a sustained push to boost energy efficiency to limit disruptions in the future.

Troy De Vries, chief engineer for distribution engineering at Consolidated Edison, spoke about Con Ed's use of breakaway connectors on overhead power lines that allow quick power restoration after wires are taken down by a falling tree or pole. Con Edison has 1000 units currently in trial, he said.

The consensus of the panel was that a conventional power grid will always be necessary, but adding distributed power, boosting energy efficiency and creating resilient distribution systems can greatly increase reliability. It was also agreed that there is a need to continue to invest in and improve infrastructure.

Ms. Ornektekin from the mayor’s office said that individuals can replicate some of these steps in their homes: “Look at what you are doing, how much energy your home is using and how much your home places demands on the grid and how you can change that.”

Michael Berkowitz, president of the 100 Resilient Cities project of the Rockefeller Foundation, is working to create a framework for urban resilience. He said the need is great because cities are more and more vulnerable, and predicts that three out of every four people will be living in cities by the year 2050. His group has found that resilient systems and policies have qualities that enable them to withstand shocks and stresses and then recover more quickly. One of those qualities is that of a cohesive and engaged community in which people readily help one another. New York is among the first 32 cities to participate in the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge.

During closing remarks, Joseph Ryan, director of Pace’s homeland security program and an organizer of the summit, stressed the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to moving forward with plans for resilience of municipalities. People who specialize in the sciences and social sciences must come together to move the conversation forward and be a part of developing addressable action steps.

The event was held at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts in lower Manhattan. Participants were tweeting with the hashtag #PaceUResilience.

Available at the summit was a white paper with a list of addressable steps that can build urban resilience through better cooperation and communication between businesses, government and the public leading to improved structures and policies as well as standard processes and procedures for experts and officials in the wake of disasters. The paper is available on the website of the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at www.pace.edu/dyson.

The summit was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and sponsored by Verizon, PWC and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce with additional support provided by American Express. The next Resilience summit at Pace is planned for two years from now.

About Pace University: Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu

News Item

Chief Executive: "Why Retail Boards Are Choosing Less Risky CEOs"

10/20/2014

Chief Executive: "Why Retail Boards Are Choosing Less Risky CEOs"

. . . The latest case in point is J.C. Penney. The big box retailer turned to traditional-retailing veteran Marvin Ellison—the executive vice president of U.S. stores for Home Depot—as its next CEO. After a long transition, Ellison will replace current Penney CEO Myron Ullman, who has been trying without success to stabilize and revitalize the iconic soft-goods retailer during his second tenure as chief.

“The selection of Marvin Ellison builds upon Penney’s need for operating effectiveness and Ellison’s record of operating” at Home Depot, said Joseph Pastore Jr., a Pace University business professor. “It also re-affirms the fundamental principle for performance in mass retailing: low margins/high volume based upon cost-effective, low price, nationally branded product offerings.”

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FASB FORUM ON FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

10/17/2014

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) will hold a forum to discuss financial disclosures on December 1, 2014. Pace University will be hosting the event at the Schimmel Center in New York City. The forum is designed to provide an opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue regarding the current state of financial disclosure and some of the current efforts that are underway to improve the effectiveness of such disclosures.

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. . . Animosity between Turkey and Syria goes back decades. In 1939, land belonging to Syria in the northwest along the Mediterranean, then called the Sanjak of Alexandretta, was annexed by Turkey and became its southernmost province, Hatay. As a result of acquiring Hatay Province, Turkey remained neutral in World War II. Syria has never recognized the action and has been an enemy of Turkey ever since.

"The Assad family has had a personal vendetta against Turkey," Dr. Michael Izady, professor of Middle Eastern and Western history at Pace University, said.

Part of the Assad family's payback was supporting PKK in their guerrilla war against Turkey starting in 1984. Bashar Assad's father, Hafez, allowed them into Syria and provided them refuge for years -- as they fought for autonomous Kurdistan for Turkey's Kurds.

Here's where it gets interesting:

PKK's Syrian affiliate is known as the Democratic Union Party, or PYD. The Popular Protection Unit, or YPG, is PYD's military wing. YPG now composes the bulk of the fighters in Kobani.

Sherkoh Abbas, chairman of Kurdistan National Assembly - Syria, says this gives Turkey little reason to step up to the plate for the Kurds in Kobani.

"Most PYD and YPG are working on behalf of Assad to manage the Kurds," he said. "Iran and Russia are tied to the groups as well."

PKK has made plenty of enemies. According to some US officials, PKK controls the drug routes through Iran and Turkey and maintains ties with Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, in addition to Assad.

"PKK has committed great acts of terrorism," Izady said. "They are run like the mafia, they are not a national liberation Army -- they are truly horrific."

News Item

The Atlantic: "The Cost of China's Determination in Hong Kong"

10/16/2014

The Atlantic: "The Cost of China's Determination in Hong Kong"

. . . "'One country, two systems' was actually a compromise between China and Hong Kong's business elite, as it allowed this elite to continue operating for 50 years," said Joseph Lee, a professor of history at Pace University in New York. "But the compromise reflected short-term thinking, and paid no attention to the needs of the newer generation."

News Item

InsideCounsel: "AIG shareholders press on with their lawsuit"

10/15/2014

InsideCounsel: "AIG shareholders press on with their lawsuit"

. . . there are some pluses with the evidence being presented during the trial. “I’m pleased to see it being aired out under oath,” John J. (Jack) James, chairman emeritus of Pace University’s Center for Global Governance, Reporting, and Regulation, told InsideCounsel in a recent interview. “It will get the conspiracy theorists to shut up for a while.”

He also points out that the list of witnesses includes the people “who were in charge.”

The case provides lessons to boards at other companies, as well, he said.

“AIG’s board was asleep at the switch,” James said.

The company not only has to follow the law, but internal governance is probably even more important than external governance, he adds.

Will the AIG case end up being a wake-up call for other companies? Overall, many observers are now watching how the case will be settled. The parties even may be able to reach a settlement before a verdict.

With cases such as Enron out there as well, general counsel and compliance officials need to be ready to speak up if issues arise.

From the point of view of the general counsel, where there are concerns, sometimes general counsel needs to work with other top officials. James explained that, in most companies, the chief legal officer is in contact with the chief risk officer and the chief corporate officer, and maybe even the top internal auditor if issues are pending. The three or even four of them can get together and go to see the CEO and tell him/her, “Hey boss. We would like to discuss something with you.”

Remember, “There is safety in numbers,” James advises. Things may be going on that are legal but not ethical, he adds.

In addition, depending on the role of the CEO in the situation, they could also go to talk to the audit committee of the board or the board chairman. After all, if the general counsel is an officer of the corporation, she/he likely took an oath to protect shareholders, and needs to come forward if there is something not in the interest of the shareholders, James said.

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Advanced Certificates for Certified Teachers

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Learn specialized skills and enhance your career with one of Pace's advanced certificates for certified teachers. Programs include childhood and adolescent special ed, educational technology specialist, literacy specialist, and integrated instruction for educational technology.

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Tour Our ReImagined Westchester Campus

Campus Tour

Discover in person what Pace’s Westchester Campus has to offer. Transformed with an expanded student center (home to 60+ student organizations, dining, etc.), enhanced athletic fields, an Environmental Center, and more to come, find out why you should make this 200-acre campus your home.

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Dyson Dean: "Imagine Your Future"

Video

In this "Think Big" video, Pace's Dyson College of Arts and Sciences Dean Nira Herrmann, PhD, challenges students to find a dream that is "close enough to achievable that you don't feel it so beyond you, why bother, but it can't be so achievable that it doesn't really carry you forward."

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Making Legal Education Affordable

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Pace Law School unveiled a first-in-the-nation tuition matching program designed to make legal education more accessible to students across the country. The program enables qualifying students to enroll at Pace Law at the in-state tuition rate of their home state.

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Pace Partnership with ACCA

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Pace and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) USA announced a landmark partnership linking ACCA's globally recognized qualification program to both undergraduate and graduate coursework at Pace's Lubin School of Business.

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Exceeding the National Average

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In 2014, Pace had the highest NCLEX-RN pass rates for baccalaureate programs in the New York metro region: nearly 92%, considerably higher than the averages for New York State (almost 77%) and the nation (almost 82%).

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Top 10 Best Online Bachelor's Programs

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U.S. News and World Report ranked Pace University among the top 10 in the country for the 2015 Best Online Bachelor's Programs. This is the fourth year in a row that Pace has been recognized or listed in the top 10.

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Pace Performing Arts LA Intensive

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Pace School of Performing Arts Announces Los Angeles Intensive for Acting, Dance, and Choreography for Film, a First-of-its-Kind Three-week Undergraduate Intensive Focusing on Training and Transitioning into the Film Industry.

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Pace Wins National College Fed Challenge

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Pace bested top colleges including Princeton and U of Chicago to win the National College Federal Reserve Challenge, a competition that tests students’ understanding of the US economy, monetary policymaking, and the role of the Federal Reserve System.